


The Cards We've Been Dealt

by ProphetPrior



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, This Means War AU, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-07 10:32:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12839316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProphetPrior/pseuds/ProphetPrior
Summary: Kent Parson and Jack Zimmermann are long-term CIA partners. They meet Eric "Bitty" Bittle separately, and both want to date him. When they find out they're both crushing on the same guy, they start a friendly competition to make Bitty fall in love with them. Four months later, things get a little out of hand.This Means War AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [goldstandard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldstandard/pseuds/goldstandard) in the [PBJ_EpiFest_2017](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/PBJ_EpiFest_2017) collection. 



> Hello everyone! I love this film, so I was so excited to claim this idea. 
> 
> I think I struggled the most with how I wanted to structure the story. The film is really omnipresent, which is really hard to do in fiction. I didn’t want a multiple POV to get too hectic, so this was the result. Also, I was intrigued by the role assignments of Kent as Tuck and Jack as FDR. This was a cool chance to make Kent more romantic and Jack more of the playboy. Tuck has a son in the film, so I decided to make Alexei fill this spot, and have Lardo and Shitty be the helpful friends. 
> 
> I hope goldstandard enjoys this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**April 23rd, 2020 - Bitty**

“I don’t know what I got myself into,” Bitty moaned, throwing himself onto the couch. Lardo was on the other end, sketchbook in hand. Bitty wasn’t worried about jostling her work -- he had done this before, and she knew to stop drawing.

“I mean,” Lardo said, raising her hand away from the paper, “you kinda did this to yourself.”

“Hey, now,” Bitty replied, looking up at her, his nose pressed into the cushion. “You were the one who suggested dating both of them at the same time.”

“Yeah,” she said, “but you’ve let it go on for four months. That’s quite a long time, Bitty.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Bitty exclaimed. “That’s my problem! I’m in too deep with both of them, and I don’t know what to do!”

Sighing, Lardo set her pencil and sketchbook down on the coffee table. “Okay. Let’s talk this out. Pros and cons list, ya know?”

Bitty adjusted himself so he was facing her. “I mean, Kent’s so sweet. Like he’s so nice and adorable. The dates we’ve gone on were so thought out and detailed. And I absolutely adore Alexei.”

“And Jack?”

“Jack is just so adventurous and funny. I didn’t have much hope when I first met him. But my first impression of him was so wrong. Yeah, he can be intense, but that’s what I like about him!”

“Sounds like you got a predicament,” Lardo said, moving closer to rub her hand on Bitty’s shoulder. “Do you know why I stay with Shitty?”

“Because you love him?” Bitty suggested.

“Well yeah,” Lardo laughed. “But he makes me want to be a better person. I like the way I am when I’m with him. He may be a complete weirdo, but so am I. We complement each other.”

“That’s my problem,” Bitty said. “I like both of them equally, for different reasons.”

“Are you talking about me?” Shitty said, walking into the living room with only a pair of boxers on.

“How long have you been in our apartment?” Bitty asked, turning his head around.

“I don’t know, since this morning?” Shitty replied, plopping himself between Bitty and Lardo on the couch. “Now answer my question.”

“Yes, Shitty,” Lardo said. “We were talking about you. I’m trying to help Bitty with his dating problem.”

Shitty laughed. “Are you still dating those two boys at the same time?”

Bitty swatted Shitty’s shoulder, but there was no real force behind it. “Don’t make fun of my situation. It’s really not that funny.”

“Why couldn’t you keep dating both-”

Bitty’s phone alarm started ringing, cutting Shitty off.

“Oh, my pie’s cool enough to transport,” Bitty said, jumping up from the couch. “I gotta drop it off at Kent’s before we pick Alexei up.”

“Just remember what I said, okay?” Lardo said, leaning into Shitty. “Think about it.”

“I will!” Bitty called over his shoulder, heading towards the kitchen.

* * *

And he did think about it on drive over to Kent’s house. He couldn’t believe that he’d let this go for so long, but he couldn’t help it. He had been single for so long, and now he had two men that wanted him? It was a dream come true! And besides, a 24-year-old gay man had needs, okay?

But he had to pick one eventually, right? He couldn’t keep leading them on like this, especially when Kent had a son. He needed to make a decision, make a real pros and cons list, do something. Because his heart couldn’t take this much longer.

For now though, he would have to keep it going just a little longer. He and Kent were taking Alexei out for dinner tonight to tell him they were going to Disney World once the school year ended. Later that weekend, he was heading to Phoenix with Jack and his peewee hockey club for a playoff game. And, his 25th birthday was coming up. He definitely deserved two boyfriends for that.

Yeah, Bitty was in trouble.

He sighed as he pulled into Kent’s driveway. There was a blue truck in the driveway that he didn’t recognize. He wondered who it could be, and why Kent had company over so close to when they would be picking Alexei up. And, he only had one pie. He couldn’t walk in and meet one of Kent’s friends empty-handed, could he? Unless he gave this pie to the friend. He could bake Kent and Alexei a new one.

He grabbed the pie and shut the door, not bothering to lock his car. Kent lived in a nice suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Las Vegas, and they were leaving soon. He walked up the porch steps, noting the tulips that were starting to come in.

When Bitty opened the door and entered the living room, he dropped the pie.

Kent was sitting on the couch, but he was practically sitting in someone’s lap. Jack’s lap. Their faces were close together and looking down at something. The sound of the door opening and the clanging of the pie tin hitting the wood floor made them jump apart, but not before Bitty saw them.

“You two know each other?” Bitty gasped out.

“Shit!” Kent exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. “Bitty, it’s not what it looks like!”

“Well, it looks like you two know each other pretty well,” Bitty said. “Have you just been messing with me this entire time?”

“No!” Jack said, also standing up. “We haven’t been messing with you.”

He couldn’t take this right now.

He spun on his heels and walked back towards his car. He could hear them calling after him, but he couldn’t even look at either of them right now. His brain was on autopilot as he pulled out of the driveway and turned down the street. Only after he was four blocks away did he remember the dropped pie. Oh well, they could clean up that up. They didn’t deserve his pies anymore.

How long had Jack and Kent known each other? And how could he be sure that these past four months haven’t been an elaborate prank? Jack seemed pretty adamant that it wasn’t, but how could he know for sure? And the fact that Kent was practically in Jack’s lap?

Then again, it wasn’t like he was completely honest with either of them. He _had_ been dating both of them -- had _sex_ with both of them -- and letting them each think they were exclusive. Had they known? Had they talked to each other about their relationships? This was so confusing.

When Bitty pulled onto the highway, he remembered that he and Kent were going to pick up Alexei from school. Should he still do that? He didn’t want to call Kent right now, but he also didn’t want to leave an innocent boy at school waiting.

He merged into the right lane to take the exit that would take him to Alexei’s school. He wasn’t sure what he planned to do exactly, but his conscience chose the decision. They planned to take him to the McDonald’s with the play place inside, and after he had his fun with chicken nuggets and the slide, they would tell him of their summer plans. But now that vacation was probably cancelled? At least for him?

Bitty tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, pulling into the school’s parking lot. Maybe when he took Alexei home, he and Kent could talk. And then after that, he and Jack could talk. Or maybe they could all talk together? He needed his space right now, but they would have to talk eventually.

Alexei knocked on the window, causing Bitty to jump. He then smiled and unlocked the front door. Alexei was taller than the average eight-year-old, and had reached the height requirement to sit in the front seat. Normally Kent would let him sit in the front as a treat, so Bitty didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“Hey, B!” Alexei exclaimed as he climbed into the car, throwing his backpack between his little legs. “Where’s Papa?”

He lied right through his teeth. “Uh… he had to do something for work, so I figured I would treat you to some ice cream. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Yeah!”

“Don’t forget to buckle your seatbelt, bud,” Bitty said, and pulled out of the parking lot. He decided that he would still take Alexei to McDonald’s anyway. The kid was cute and deserved to be treated.

An idea popped into Bitty’s head, and his mouth said it before he could stop himself. “Hey Alexei, do you know anyone named Jack?”

“Uncle Jack?” Alexei replied.

Well, shit. “Sure?”

“Yeah!” Alexei said, smile showing his missing front tooth. “Uncle Jack was there when Papa rescue me!”

Bitty didn’t know what that last part meant -- maybe he considered being adopted as being rescued? -- but this wasn’t good.

“Well, that’s nice,” Bitty said, looking back at the road.

“Uncle Jack takes me skating,” Alexei said, words flying. “I’m not being very good, but I have fun!”

“Why have you never mentioned Uncle Jack before?” Bitty asked, fearing the answer before it left the child’s mouth.

“Oh,” Alexei said, voice getting quiet. “Papa said not to unless you asking.”

Bitty wanted to ask more questions, but that wasn’t fair to Alexei. He probably had not idea what was going on, so it didn’t seem right to keep interrogating him. Besides, they had pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot, and he knew that this trip shouldn’t last too long.

“Okay, kid,” Bitty said, cutting the engine. “You get a Happy Meal and a McFlurry of your choice.”

“Yay!” Alexei exclaimed, throwing the door open. He bounced up and down on his heels, waiting for Bitty to get out of the car.

“Hold on, bud,” Bitty said, sliding out of his seat and shutting his door. “I just need to send a text to your dad.”

He didn’t want to have a full conversation, but he should let the man know that he picked up his son, and would safely bring him back once Alexei got his ice cream. He tapped on the iMessage icon, then his view went dark.

“Hey!” Bitty exclaimed, feeling a bag over his face. He couldn’t breathe.

“B!” He heard Alexei scream from across the car, but he couldn’t call out for the child. His shoulder was shoved, and he felt his feet be guided into a vehicle before he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**April 23rd, 2020 - Kent**

Kent sat next to Jack on the couch, folders of their current drug cartel case between them. Normally CIA agents of their level wouldn’t be involved with this, but they suspected the drugs were coming from across the border. And ever since the competition started with Jack, they’ve been taking easier cases. “Why are they hiding them in female-run businesses?”

“What?” Jack asked, looking up.

Kent swung his legs around, draping them over his own. “Zimms, look,” He said, pointing at the file. “The past five hideouts have been businesses owned by women. That can’t be a coincidence, right?”

“Isn’t that a little sexist?” Jack laughed, taking the file. “I mean, it’s 2020. Lots of women own their own businesses.”

Kent swatted at Jack’s face. “I know that, dumbass. But what else links them together? They could be in the same business guild, or a society, or the same PTA board?”

They both looked down at the file, trying to see what else could link these businesses together.

The sound of the front door opening and a metal clang broke the two apart. Standing in the doorway was Bitty, his eyes wide and his hands falling to his sides.

“You two know each other?” Bitty gasped out.

“Shit!” Kent exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. “Bitty, it’s not what it looks like!”

“Well, it looks like you two know each other pretty well,” Bitty said. “Have you just been messing with me this entire time?”

“No!” Jack said, also standing up. “We haven’t been messing with you.”

Bitty abruptly turned around, leaving the pie spread on the wooden panels.

“Bitty, wait!” Kent called out, running out onto the porch. “Can we at least talk about this?”

But his voice fell on deaf ears as Bitty got into his car and quickly pulled out of his driveway.

“Fuck!” Kent yelled, walking back into his house. “I forgot he was coming over before I had to pick up Alexei from school.”

Alexei was Kent’s adopted 8-year-old son. Two years ago, Jack and Kent had been part of an investigation that took down a Russian human trafficking ring. Alexei’s father was the leader, and after they arrested him, they realized Alexei had no surviving family. Everyone involved told Kent it was stupid or wrong to adopt him, but Kent would never forget the look on Alexei’s face when they stormed the warehouse. He first took him in as a foster child, and after the trial concluded, Kent became Alexei’s legal father.

Being a 27-year-old single father to a 6-year-old Russian boy had its challenges, but it had been the best two years of his life. And Bitty had fit in so well with their dynamic. He was worried at first that Alexei wouldn’t like Kent’s attention not being fully on him, but Alexei warmed up to Bitty easily.

“What the fuck, Kent?” Jack said, still standing in the living room. “You just ruined this for both of us.”

“I’m aware of that, Zimms,” Kent replied, heading to the kitchen to grab some paper towel to clean up the pie. “Thanks for being so fucking obvious.”

Jack sat back down on the couch, rubbing his eyes with his hands. Kent walked back into the room, but didn’t say anything. He cleaned up the mess in silence, letting the sounds of the paper towel and soap clear his head. After he finished, he sat on the couch next to Jack.

“I mean, he has to talk to us, right?” Kent said quietly, hoping that Jack was done having his panic attack. He understood that Jack had every right to be anxious about this, but he also wasn’t the only one suffering here.

Jack didn’t say anything, but he nodded and took his hands away from his eyes.

“We just have to tell him the truth,” Kent said. “Bitty will understand.”

“We should have told him the truth from the beginning,” Jack whispered. “We shouldn’t have let this get so out of hand.”

“You could have just me date him,” Kent replied. “I saw him first.”

Jack glared at him. “Or you could have let me date him! You know that he’s different for me!”

“What, I should have just stopped seeing someone I liked because you finally wanted to do more than fuck someone?”

“I don’t know!” Jack yelled, throwing his hands up. “Why not?”

“And what about me?” Kent yelled back. “Do you know how hard it is to find a gay man that wants to date someone with a child?”

“We fucked up, okay? And now we both lost him.”

“We just have to explain everything to him,” Kent said again, pulling out his phone. Then he noticed the time. “Oh shit, school’s out. Bitty and I were going to pick Alexei up together.”

“Do you think he still picked him up?” Jack asked, pulling out his own cell phone.

“I don’t know why he would,” Kent replied. He opened the tracking app up on his phone and waited for it to connect.

“Are you gonna try calling him? Or the school?” Jack asked.

“Nope,” Kent said, smiling as Alexei’s signal was located. The pulsing dot was moving south, on the road heading towards the McDonald’s he usually took Alexei. Even after what just happened, Bitty still picked his son up from school? His heart thudded in his throat.

“Well, it looks like Bitty is heading south,” Jack said, holding out his phone to show a similar pulsing dot on his screen. “Or, at least his phone is.”

Kent laughed, tilting his own screen so Jack could see. “You put a tracker in Bitty’s phone?”

“You put a tracker on your son?” Jack asked.

“Of course I did,” Kent replied. “As soon as the adoption paperwork went through, I got him microchipped. I’m not stupid.”

“Do you wanna go after them?”

Kent hesitated before answering. “Yes? We should give him space, but I also want to explain myself right away? And maybe a public setting like McDonald’s will help the situation?”

“Exactly,” Jack said, standing up. “Let’s go get our boys.”

Kent nodded. He stood up and grabbed his keys from the kitchen. “I’m driving. You hold onto the phones to make sure we’re going to the right one.”

They were pretty quiet once they got in the car. The only sound was the soft beeps emitting from their phones. Kent gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to stay focused on the road. Las Vegas driving wasn’t fun at any time, and after school hours were always a nightmare. But his thoughts did wonder. What was he going to say to Bitty once they got there? Would Bitty understand why they lied to him? Would Bitty reject them? Or even worse, choose to stay with Jack instead of him?

“Hang on,” Jack said, causing Kent to jump.

“What?”

“Alexei’s dot started moving again, but Bitty is still there,” Jack said, his voice tight.

“Where would he be going without Bitty?” asked Kent. His foot nudged the gas pedal a little harder.

“I… don’t know. But he’s heading west.”

When they pulled into the McDonald’s, they realized something was wrong. Bitty’s car was parked in a spot behind the building, but there was no sign of either of them.

“The signal says he should be right here,” Jack said, getting out of the car.

Kent bit his lip. “What the hell is going on? Are they pranking us back?”

“Shit,” Jack said, climbing back into the car. He held up Bitty’s phone, screen shattered. When Jack unlocked it, there was a unsent text to Kent: _Taking Alexei for some ice cream. When I drop him off, we can_

“Call Georgia,” Kent said, starting the car. “We might need back up.”

“What’s the plan?” Jack asked, closing out his tracker app and dialing a number.

“My best guess is Bitty is still with Alexei,” Kent replied, tearing out of the parking lot with a loud squeal. “We follow the signal and get both of our boys back?”

“You still have gear in your trunk?”

* * *

They followed the signal west to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. When the road tapered off to a dirt path, Kent parked his car.

“Okay, Georgia said the tactical team is behind us,” Jack said, hanging up his phone. “They’ll follow us, but will wait for our signal to engage.”

“Let’s suit up, then,” Kent said, getting out. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he inhaled a quick breath. They didn’t know who or what they were following, and that kind of blindness was terrifying.

“Hey,” Jack said, stopping Kent when they got to the trunk. “We’ll find them, okay?”

Kent nodded and looked up at Jack. He could hear the unspoken ‘alive’ in those words, and he didn’t know what to say to that. How had the day gone from relatively decent to absolutely horrendous? The possibility of losing his son and the man he had grown so close to over these past four months? He didn’t know if he could handle that.

Jack squeezed his shoulder, pulling him out of his head. “Okay?” He said again, his blue eyes glowing in the Nevada sun.

“Let’s go,” Kent replied, finding comfort in Jack’s ability to believe in themselves.

Kent opened his trunk and grabbed two bullet-proof vests. He didn’t want to think they’d be going into a situation where they’d need them, but they had to be careful. He also pulled out two handguns, and handed one to Jack. Finally, he grabbed two earpieces so they could communicate with the tactical team.

Once they put the vests on and did a voice check with the earpieces, they headed towards the signal. They followed a dirt path for a while. The view would be beautiful if Kent could enjoy it. He had wanted to take Alexei to the surrounding desert areas, but now those places would definitely be off limits. Their Disney World vacation would be much needed.

They approached an old building with the roof caving in. The metal siding was rusted, but the still shiny parts gleamed in the sun. There were two cars parked outside, but no people.

“We’re entering the building,” Kent said quietly into his earpiece, and motioned to Jack to go forward.

When they got to the sliding door, it was propped open. They entered the building, Jack turned to the left and Kent to the right. There was no one in sight, so they headed right along the wall.

“Hey!”

Kent turned around to see a guy coming at them. Jack spun around and punched him in the jaw, sending him to the ground.

“Thanks,” Kent whispered.

“No problem,” Jack said behind him.

They inspected the man on the ground. He was pale-skinned and had blond hair, but there was nothing noticeable on him to indicate who he was working for. Kent grabbed the gun from the man’s holster. He didn’t like the fact that they were armed, but he was expecting it.

“Proceeding,” Kent said, and stood up.

He walked towards another door, this time closed. He nodded at Jack, then opened it slowly. The room was pretty big, with hunks of metal and rusted machinery scattered throughout. Light filtered in through holes in the roof.

Bitty and Alexei were tied to chairs in the corner. Their mouths were gagged, and Alexei was slumped to one side with his eyes closed. Bitty looked up at the sound of people entering the room, his eyes wide.

“We found them,” Kent whispered. “Preparing for extraction.”

“Bitty!” Jack said as they approached them. “Are you okay?”

Bitty nodded, but stopped moving to let Kent work the duct tape off his mouth. Jack went behind the chairs to cut the ropes. Kent looked over at Alexei, thankful to watch his son’s chest slowly rise and fall. He was just knocked out.

“What’s going on?” Bitty asked, his voice harsh. There were tears in his eyes.

“We’re not sure,” Kent replied. “Did you recognize who took you two?”

“I didn’t get a chance to look at them,” Bitty said, his breathing picking up. “One moment we were in the parking lot, then everything went black.”

“Shh, you’re okay,” Jack whispered, coming back around. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“Are you sure about that?” A voice with a thick Russian accent said behind them.

Kent and Jack turned around quickly, guns pointed at the door. There was a man holding a gun, pointed at Bitty. He was also pale-skinned, with scars marking his face and neck. There was a tattoo on his right forearm. Alexei’s biological father, and everyone involved in the human trafficking case two years ago, had the exact same one.

“Engage on my mark,” Kent whispered, tightening his grip on his own gun.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” Jack said. “Why wouldn’t we get out of here?”

“Oh, I intend to take little Alexei out of here, and put him back where he belongs.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Kent said. “I’m too overprotective of my son. You can’t just take him.”

“He is Iosif’s son!” the man spat out. “And he belongs in Russia!”

“Now!” Kent yelled, spinning around and covering Alexei’s body. On his left, Jack did the same to Bitty as gunfire filled the room. The tactical team burst through the door, taking down the man as they entered.

Once the man was on the ground, Kent picked up Alexei’s body and carried him out of the building. Jack and Bitty were behind them, Bitty leaning on Jack for support. When they got outside, there were cop cars and an ambulance waiting for them.

“Kent!” Georgia Martin called out, motioning them over to the ambulance. Kent could feel Alexei stirring in his arms, and he looked down.

“Papa!” Alexei cried, reaching out towards Kent’s face. There were tears streaming down his cheeks.

“It’s okay, Солнышко моё,” Kent whispered. “You’re safe.”

Jack and Bitty came up behind him, Bitty pressed into Jack’s side. His eyes were blurry, and his breathing was still raggid. A medic came over to start looking them over.

Kent shifted Alexei’s weight to one hand, and reached out to touch Bitty’s shoulder. “You’re both safe now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Солнышко моё = my sunshine


	3. Chapter 3

**May 1st, 2020 - Jack**

Jack sat next to Kent at Bitty’s kitchen island, slices of pie between them. Bitty was standing across from them, a cup of coffee in his hand.

It had been about a week since Dmitry Lyashev tried to kidnap Bitty and Alexei. After Bitty had been cleared by the medic, he asked the two of them to give him some space. They had agreed to wait for Bitty to get in contact with them, and a week later Bitty invited them over for pie.

Jack took the pie as a good sign, but the kitchen had a tension in the air he could feel. No one knew what to say, or wanted to be the first one to speak.

Bitty set his mug down and glanced over at Kent. “So… I’m guessing you’re not really an event planner?”

Kent chuckled. “I plan things… just not events. More like tactical teams and raids?”

“Are you really a peewee hockey coach?”

This time Jack laughed. “Yeah, those are really my kids. But I’m only the assistant coach. I only help out when I’m not working.”

“And that work is…” Bitty hesitated. “With the CIA?”

“Yeah,” Kent said. “We’re both CIA agents. We’ve been partners for four years.”

“Okay,” Bitty nodded. “So that’s how you know each other.”

It was silent for a moment, like Bitty was working out what he wanted to say next. Jack sighed and leaned forward. “Bitty, we’re sorry we didn’t tell you that we knew each other. But when we found out we both went on a date with you, we didn’t know what to do.”

“So you just let me think that I was dating two strangers for four months?” Bitty asked.

“Yeah…” Kent said, twirling his fork around a piece of pie crust. “We both wanted to date you, so we just let it happen.”

“Did y’all know about the dates with the other person?”

Jack coughed. “Um… there are cameras all over your apartment. We would watch each other’s footage and track the other person’s dates.”

“What?” Bitty yelled. “You put cameras in here?”

“We broke in one day when you were at work.”

Bitty’s face went pink. “So does that mean… you’ve seen…”

“Yes,” Kent answered. “We watched the videos of each of us having sex with you.”

“Okay,” Bitty said, stepping away from the island. “You have five minutes to get rid of any cameras or other CIA equipment in this apartment!”

Jack jumped up from his bar stool and got to work. He pulled down the camera from the top of a kitchen cabinet, the lamp in the living room, under the sink in the bathroom… He caught up with Kent in Bitty’s bedroom, who was pulling down the camera tucked away behind a framed Beyonce poster.

When they walked back to the kitchen, they each had a little pile in their hands.

“Is that everything?” Bitty asked, fresh cup of coffee in hand. He seemed a little bit more confident.

“Wait,” Kent said, holding out his hand. “There’s a tracker in your phone.”

Bitty looked between them, biting his lip. “I’m assuming that’s how you found Alexei and me?”

“Yeah, that’s how we rescued you,” Jack answered.

Bitty nodded. “Okay. Then the tracker can stay.”

The kitchen air was tense again. Bitty blinked a few times, then sighed. Jack could feel the disappointment or rejection ready to come across Bitty’s lips. And he honestly wasn’t ready for that. These past few months had been absolutely life-changing. Before he met Bitty, he didn’t know if he ever wanted to settle down. He loved the way work made him feel free and alive, but Bitty had shown him that he could feel that in a relationship, too.

“Listen, boys,” Bitty said. “I don’t… I don’t know how you two would feel about this, but I’d like to keep dating.”

“Both of us?” Kent whispered, like he too couldn’t believe what Bitty just said.

“Yeah?” Bitty replied, glancing between the two of them. “I know it’s not traditional or normal, but I really like both of you.”

“I really like you, too,” Jack said. “I know we haven’t been completely honest with you, but my feeling for you were never fake.”

Kent murmured his own agreement. “You’ve been such a great figure in Alexei’s life. But you really want to stay with us after last week?”

“I know it’s crazy,” Bitty said. “But if it’s okay with y’all, then it’s okay with me. Shitty said that we should come up with some terms and agreements, especially after last week.”

“Yeah,” Jack said, smiling. When he came to Bitty’s apartment today, he never predicted this outcome. He was ready to say goodbye to Bitty forever, or worse… have Bitty choose Kent over him. But if Bitty wanted to give them both a second chance, he was all for it.

“I just have one question,” Bitty asked his face going pink again. “Have you two ever dated? Because I saw you two on Kent’s couch.”

Jack choked on his own spit. “What? No, we’ve never dated.”

“No,” Kent agreed. “We’ve only ever been friends.”

“But have you ever wanted to date?” Bitty pushed. “Like if I wasn’t in the picture?”

Jack looked over at Kent. They had known each other for four years. They had worked together, fought together, cried together -- hell, they’d taken a bullet for each other. Jack wasn’t good with emotions, but he knew that he trusted Kent with his life, and would be willing to do anything for him. But was the love he felt for him platonic, like he had thought it was?

“It’s okay,” Bitty said. “You don’t have to answer that question right now. But if this is going to work, we need to communicate with each other. No more secrets.”

Kent nodded, making eye contact with Jack finally. His hazel eyes were bright, like he was looking at Jack for the first time. “No more secrets.”

* * *

They all ended up naked in Bitty’s bed. Jack’s chest was pressed against Bitty, his hands running up and down Bitty’s leg. Kent was behind Bitty, mouth on his neck. Bitty moaned as Kent peppered kisses along Bitty’s skin, moving slowly down to his hipbone. He eased Bitty’s cock into his mouth, and Bitty’s hand flew up to grasp Jack’s shoulder.

Jack latched onto Bitty’s open mouth, letting his tongue trace Bitty’s swollen lips. He could taste traces of the sweet coffee Bitty had earlier. He ran his fingers down Bitty’s chest, stopping at his nipples. They were wet from Kent’s mouth. He traced his fingers around, tickling the faint blond dustings.

“Who wants to fuck me?” Bitty breathed out, pulling away from Jack’s mouth.

Kent stopped bobbing his mouth to look up. He pulled off slowly, letting spit hang between his mouth and the head of Bitty’s dick.

“You want him, Zimms?” Kent asked, scooting up to the head of the bed.

Jack didn’t need to be asked twice. He pushed Bitty’s legs apart and kneeled down. He and Bitty had had sex twice before. He loved Bitty’s small, yet firm ass. He rubbed his hands on the cheeks, spreading them apart further so he could put his mouth on Bitty’s hole.

Bitty tilted his head back as Jack licked up and down slowly, not pushing his tongue in right away. He knew that Bitty liked to be teased, and savored it for a moment. He then pushed in, enjoying the feeling of Bitty’s muscles contracting to his touch.

Kent reached around to the end table and grabbed the box of condoms and the bottle of lube.

Jack pulled away from Bitty’s hole to take the supplies from Kent. “Thanks, Parse.”

Kent didn’t let go of them right away, but instead slid his fingers down to grip Jack’s wrist. Jack looked down at their hands, then looked back up. Kent leaned in closer, and pressed his lips against Jack’s cheek, then on his mouth.

“Parse?” Jack whispered, then kissed him back. Kent’s lips felt different than Bitty’s. They were rough and smaller, but there was a comfort there. Jack leaned into Kent, letting him take the lead.

“Oh my God,” Bitty moaned from under them. The two pulled apart to look down at him. Bitty’s face was flushed, with his hands gripping the sheets.

Jack looked back at Kent, smiling. “We should have done that ages ago.”

He popped the lube bottle open and squirted a generous amount onto his fingers. He worked a finger into Bitty’s hole, letting the lube warm up.

Kent pulled back and sat next to Bitty’s head. “How you doing, babe?”

Bitty laughed, then gasped softly as Jack pushed against his prostate with two fingers. “I’m doing great. I’d do even better if I had a dick in me.”

Jack smacked Bitty’s ass. “Turn around, and I’ll make that happen for you.”

Bitty spun around, letting Kent guide him to his lips. Bitty moved one hand to start pumping Kent’s cock, while the other arm supported his weight.

Jack pumped his own cock, then rolled the condom on. He made eye contact with Kent as he lined himself up with Bitty’s asshole.

“Come on, Zimms,” Kent groaned out. “Fuck him.”

Jack pressed up against Bitty, nudging the head of his cock into Bitty’s hole.

“Fuck,” Bitty whined, arching his back.

“Relax, bud,” Jack said, pushing in slowly. He didn’t look away from Kent as he moved. He started with a slow rhythm, letting Bitty get used to the feeling. He thrust deep, aroused at the sensation of his balls slapping against Bitty’s ass.

Kent finally looked down at Bitty’s face and pulled his mouth up to kiss him. Bitty wrapped his free hand around Kent’s neck, pushing his weight into him.

Jack bent his leg, using the new angle to thrust faster into Bitty. He squeezed his hands around Bitty’s ass, kneading the flesh. He moved his hands up and around to his waist, and then down to pump Bitty’s cock.

“Oh,” Bitty gasped out, his mouth open around Kent’s. “Oh my God.”

Jack knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He pounded into Bitty at the same angle, knowing that he was pushing up against Bitty’s prostate by how he started whining. He felt his orgasm rise up inside of him, a burning heat in his groin. All of his emotions from the past four months built up and released. He cried out as he stilled his hips.

Jack’s hand kept pumping Bitty’s cock, and soon after Bitty moaned out softly as he ejaculated into Jack’s hand.

“Holy shit,” Kent said, working on his own cock, still flushed and thick.

Jack pulled out of Bitty slowly, careful to not tear the condom. He tied it up and sat back on his heels, watching the two of them.

“Come on, baby,” Bitty said softly, moving his hand to caress Kent’s cheek. “Come for me.”

Kent’s chest heaved as he pumped his cock faster. He cried out a warning, then came across Bitty’s chest.

Jack sighed, coming down from his mental high. He would have to acknowledge what happened between him and Kent eventually, but for now he would enjoy the love he was feeling in his heart. If someone told him four months ago that he would have sex with his best friend and a cute blond boy who would change his world, he would have called them crazy. But now? He was enjoying the cards they had been dealt.

Bitty laughed softly as he turned around and fell into the mattress. “I could get used to this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Come reblog this work and view others from this fest [HERE](https://pbj-epifest.tumblr.com/) on the PB&J Epifest tumblr page!


End file.
